Okay, we don’t know about you guys, but the Euro 2012 have not only fired us, but our computers decided it would be cool to just, you know, not work too. But now we’re back! And we’re pretty excited because there has been SO much going on in the footy world. Mangers are coming and going in the EPL, Euro 2012 is battling racism unfortunately and tons more. Here’s your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

Grygoriy Surkis, president of the Ukraine soccer body, said the racism threat was overblown in Ukraine and urged everyone to turn their attention from politics to sports.
“There can be individual cases of racism in Ukraine stadiums and that needs to be stopped,” Surkis said Tuesday. “But it is important we focus on the most important thing – football … We should not keep talking about racism in Ukrainian football. The tournament is about football, not politics.” 

Well footy fans, the domestic seasons may be over in Europe, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t still crazy in England. Redknapp is still running his mouth, rumors about RVP still abound and that’s just in EPL! Check out all the headlines in your Tuesday Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

Ivan Gazidis, chief executive of Arsenal, has revealed there was a “good discussion” between the club and Robin Van Persie recently about the striker’s future with the club. As you probably know, the rumor RVP is head out of the club has been rising as of late. The contents of the conversation are being kept under wraps, but in an announcement on the club’s Web site, it was clear Gazidis was happy with the outcome.

Welp, Tottenham’s boss Harry Redknapp opened his mouth again and maybe he should have inserted his foot. Today on Sky Sports News, in his weird little way to ease the fears of fans about players leaving over the club missing out on the Champions League, Redknapp said,

“I think it’s overrated what people say about Champions League football and whatever … People would have still gone to Chelsea if they hadn’t won the Champions League this year because they know it’s a club that’s looking to get into the Champions League positions next year.”

What do you think?

I don’t know if Liverpool fans are excited or indifferent to this news, but it seems Joe Cole will be back with the Reds next season after spending this past year with French side Lille. Cole came to Liverpool from Chelsea on a free transfer and didn’t do too much for the Reds. Liverpool fans, what do you think about Joe coming back?

Oh Joey Barton. It just doesn’t really stop with you, does it? It was reported yesterday that Barton was assaulted outside a Liverpool nightclub in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Barton supposedly dropped charges, but two 21-year-old men are being detained by police.

US Open Cup

Fourth round begins tonight folks! Here’s a break down of the matches:

Carolina RailHawks v. Chivas USA
Harrisburg City Islanders v. New York Red Bulls 
D.C. United v. Philadelphia Union
Michigan Bucks v. Dayton Dutch Lions
Sporting Kansas City v. Colorado Rapids
San Antonio Scorpions v. Charlotte Eagles
Seattle Sounders FC v. Cal FC 
San Jose Earthquakes v. Minnesota Stars FC 

Serie A

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri now sits under house arrest after being released from prison. He had been held for his suspected involvement in the ever-growing Italy match-fixing scandal.

International Friendlies

Armenia 3 – Kazakhstan 0
Sweden 2 – Serbia 1
Austria 0 – Romania 0
France 4 – Estonia 0

US Men’s National Team

Kansas City soccer fans get ready! US Soccer announced today the USMNT will play a World Cup qualifying match against Guatemala Oct. 16 at LiveStrong Sporting Park!

Ciaran Clark plays hero not villain as he opens up the scoring for Villa

Tottenham Hotspurs had so much riding on this match today, but so did Aston Villa.  A single point from the final 1 – 1 score will give each a lift, but Tottenham needed more.

Coming into the match, Villa were only three points clear of the drop so any points gained today would help distance them further from relegation.  The West Midlands team had only won one of their last 14 league matches and have been winless against Tottenham since 2008.

In addition to today’s well-earned point, the Claret and Blue also got a little help from their local West Midland rivals, West Brom.  Albion also earned a draw today when they met up with Bolton, leaving Villa virtually safe from relegation. Even without next week’s results, the Villans have such a superior goal differential, they will most likely remain in the top flight for another season.

As for the Spurs, they are not fighting to remain in the premiership.  Their goal all season has been to qualify for Champions League for the first time in their club’s history. They have shown good form this season and spent most of it in third place.  They would have preferred a win today, but manager Harry Redknapp seemed content with the single point.

Spurs were down one nil at the interval and then early in the second half went down a man as Danny Rose was given a red card.  But Spurs held on and Emmanuel Adebayor made no mistake from the spot after Sandro was brought down by Richard Dunne. All tied up at the hour mark, the 10-man team began to look for a win.  But Villa continued with their impressive defending and clung on to the well-deserved draw.

The North London side is now tied with Arsenal while Newcastle is a point behind after losing to Manchester City earlier in the day. It will all come down to next week, the final week of the season.  Newcastle will play Everton away, Arsenal travel to West Brom and Tottenham host Fulham.

For additional information about Champions League qualifications and the teams fighting for those positions, yesterday’s Arsenal v Norwich City match report can explain the significance of at least the EPL’s third and fourth place positions for this season.

Did you know that more Americans are watching top international soccer matches than ever before?  Yes, it WAS rhetorical and also not surprising to football fanatics like us, but it’s good for those less passionate or informed Americans to know – so spread the word!   Besides that remarkable data, today’s Daily Kick Around is chock-full of soccer news for your mid-week fix.  Headlines include Fabrice Muamba’s return to Reebok Stadium, a new head coach named for England and so much more.  Get over your Wednesday hump and read on for the exciting soccer news of the day.

English Premier League

A warm welcome back to Fabrice Muamba, who will attend his first Premier League event since his cardiac arrest occurred March 17.  The Bolton midfielder has made a remarkably quick recovery but is uncertain about his football career at this time.  We’ve missed you!

EPL Results

Liverpool 0 – 1 Fulham

Stoke City 1 – 1 Everton

Everton fans were hoping for a win last night, but a single point is still satisfying considering Liverpool lost to Fulham on the same night.  Everton is currently in seventh place, only three points above their Merseyside rivals with only two weeks left in the season.  Everton may well finish above the 18-time champions for the first time.  Dig it out to the end Toffees!

Today’s EPL Fixtures

Chelsea v New Castle United

Bolton v Tottenham

The Football Association made a surprising announcement today.  They named West Brom manager Gary Hodgeson as the new manager for England on a four-year contract.  Most people predicted Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp would get the job, but the FA insisted Hodgeson was their first choice.

This year, more US television viewers tuned in to the highest level of football than last year.  Both Champions League semi-final matches and Monday’s Manchester Derby averaged over a million viewers, up 29% from 2011.  American’s have been a bit slow to embrace the sport with the same passion as the rest of the world, but this is a good sign in the right direction.

Serie A

Last night’s win over Palermo puts Napoli firmly into the third place position in the Italian league and gives them the final Champions League berth.  Their 2-0 victory broke a four-way tie and gives them the opportunity to return to Europe’s top competition next season after a stellar performance this year.

La Liga Results

Getafe 1 – 1 Santander

Granada 2 – 1 Espanyol

Gijon 2 – 3 Villareal

Tonight’s La Liga Fixtures

Atletico v Sociedad

Barcelona v Malaga

Mallorca v Vallecana

Zaragoza v Levante

Sevilla v Betis

A Bilbao v Real Madrid

Valencia v Osasuna

Oh dear lord, soccer fans, it’s Derby Day in Manchester!!! Even if you aren’t a fan of the Blues and Red Devils, you have got to be itching for this game just as much as we are. Today, we’ve got the countdown to the big event, plus Arsenal’s newest signing and maybe, quite p

English Premier League

Is there any rivalry in EPL as big as Manchester United v. Manchester City? You never know what to expect, but you know it’s going to be big! Ryan Giggs is excited about, I’m excited about and I’m sure you are too! This game could shift everything in the league – and I’m not just being dramatic. A United win would clench the 20th league title championship for the Red Devils. A City win could very well put them at top and crush their cross–town rivals. What ever happens, don’t miss a minute of it! Kick off is at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. You might want to call in sick this afternoon for this one!

Arsenal fans, rejoice!!! Lukas Podolski – the German sensation – has committed to joining the Gunners during the summer transfer season.

Podolski, who has 95 caps, said: “I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal and the Premier League. They are one of the top clubs in Europe with a huge history.

Congrats to Podoloski and Arsenal. Can’t wait to see what he brings to the team next year.

England National Team

The big news this weekend and today, behind the derby, was the news that West Brom told the FA they could interview manager Roy Hodgson for the job of England National Team manager.  Hodgson arrived in Wembley today for the interview and – as a friend put it – he looked as excited as a puppy being taken for a walk. If you are surprised by the choice, you’ll have something in common with Harry Redknapp, Tottenham manager, who kinda thought he was gonna get the call up. Oh well!

Major League Soccer

It was all about the late game winners this weekend in MLS. Just ask our own Alyssa Olszewski, who’s San Jose Earthquakes had a nice little stoppage time win.

Who doesn’t love the Goal of the Week vote? Week 8′s nominees are up! Go vote!!!

Today is Hump Day and full of news for you footie fans out there trying to labor through the rest of the week.  The biggest story of the day concerns the Arsenal v AC Milan Champions League match.  The Gunners almost pulled off an unimaginable victory over their Italian rivals and if you missed the match, you can read my match review below.  Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is also in the news, as are Chelsea, but this time it is for a win rather than an embarrassing defeat.  Get today’s Champions League fixtures and your daily football news to help get you over the mid-week hump in Wednesday’s Daily Kick Around.

Yesterday’s Champions League Results

Last night, Arsenal came up short to AC Milan in what would have been the come-back of the season.  After AC Milan crushed the North London side 4 – 0 in the first leg tie-breaker at San Siro, the Gunners needed to score five goals and concede none last night to advance to the quarterfinals.  After a valiant effort, the final score ended up at 3 – 0 (Agg 3 – 4).  Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have redeemed themselves.  Read more about last night’s match in my recap.

Benfica beat Zenit St. Petersburg 2 – 0.  Find a match review here as well as some video footage.  Benfica will advance to the CL quarterfinals along with AC Milan.

Today’s Champions League Fixtures 

Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen at 2:30 ET on Fox Soccer

Apoel Nicosia v Lyon

FA Cup Results

Roberto Di Matteo, acting manager who recently replaced Andre Villas-Boas, led Chelsea to a 2 – 0 victory over Birmingham and will advance to the FA Cup quarterfinals. Read a full recap here.

English Premier League

Current Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is Mr. Popular these days.  He has been linked with a move to take over the England National team and today, there are rumors he might be next in line to manage Chelsea.  Redknapp admitted it would be a “dream job” for anyone but not the job for him. Can anyone blame him when knowing you’d have Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich breathing down your neck all season? That job is not for the faint of heart.

Speaking of Tottenham, it is rumored that midfielder Luca Modric will be offered a £3.5million loyalty bonus if he signs a new £100,000-a-week contract for Spurs.  If you remember, towards the end of last summer, Modric was sending a loud and clear message that he wanted to be traded to a team that could qualify for Champions League.  Harry Redknapp refused to sell him, which was wise because Modric is a key element in the center for Spurs.  Currently Tottenham are third in the league standings, very likely to end up in a top four finish, so this is a win-win for Modric and Spurs.

It’s the weekend, and if you’re like me, you’ve been awake since the crack of dawn watching this morning’s EPL clashes. While there is a lot of action on the field, a few players transfers and loans are making news off the pitch. Plus, Harry Redknapp is speaking out against abusive chants from fans. And MLS supporters group, the Timbers Army, made their TV show debut last night, and looked sharp doing it! That and more, here is your Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

As the Russian transfer window closed last night, a few last minute moves were made by a couple of EPL sides. The first sees Andrey Arshavin off to Zenit St Petersburg on loan. Arshavin had a stellar first season with Arsenal, but has since fallen off, and was struggling as of late.

Blackburn Rovers were the other EPL squad to make a move last night, sending Christopher Samba off to FC Anzhi Makhachkala. Reports are saying the transfer was for 11 million pounds; a crazy amount of money!

This season in particular, the spotlight has been focused on getting rid of racism in football. Whether it’s coming from fans or players, there has been a huge outcry to put a stop to it. Now Harry Redknapp is calling for an end to not just racism, but all the abusive chants from fans in the stands. As he says in this interview, “People get in a crowd and they change. If you meet them individually they are as good as gold, but get them in a crowd and off they go, they all follow and chant any filth that comes into their heads.” Spot on, Harry.

If you missed any of the EPL action today, you can find all the information you could possibly need, including recaps and scores, right here.

Major League Soccer

Finally, the Timbers Army–supporters group for the Portland Timbers–made their TV show debut last night on Portlandia. A fun, quirky showcase of soccer fans in the US. Watch the two minute clip here!

It’s Saturday Game Day folks! There’s tons going on in the footy world, per usual, and we’ve got lots of headlines for you today! From Leeds United getting a new manager, Balotelli adding a racial complaint to the news and trouble in China as the country’s former deputy soccer chief heads to jail. It’s here in today’s DKA!

World Soccer

China may not be little, but they’re soccer world is in big trouble. Yang Yimin, China’s former deputy soccer chief, was sentenced today to 10 1/2 years in prison after taking $20,000 in bribes to fix matches. He was just one of 39 people convicted – including four refs. Big Trouble in Little China indeed.

Will he or won’t he? It seems that instead of asking who will lead England’s National team in the coming months, the real question is if Harry Redknapp will take the job. After insisting he doesn’t want the command of the Three Lions’, Redknapp now is “opening the door” to talks of managing the squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament. Hmmm….

Major League Soccer

In a huge, late night surprise, Seattle Sounders fans were shocked as the club announced it would trade fan favorites, forward Mike Fucito and midfielder Lamar Neagle, for USMNT international Eddie Johnson, who returned to MLS. Fucito and Neagle are now headed to Montreal. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out after this.

If you’re a regular reader of DKA, you know MLS has been moving and shaking things up all off season. The Bleacher Report has a nice article outlining the 10 most important moves MLS teams have made during their months off.

Europa League

I hate to talk about it – Hell, all of the girls here at Aerys Soccer hate when we have to talk about this – but there is another complaint of racism in the EPL. Apparently Manchester City has officially filed with UEFA stating Italian striker Mario Balotelli suffered racial abuse during the Tuesday Europa League game against Porto. Midfielder Yaya Toure could have also been on the receiving end, but it seems only Balotelli is the only one the club has confirmed. UEFA stated they will make a decision to launch an investigation after they have received and reviewed the delegate’s match reports.

Championship League

Apparently Leeds United have finally settled on a new manager; former Queens Park Rangers boss Neil Warnock. And ol’ Neil is already making an impression as Leeds was able to notch a late win over Doncaster today at home. Side note: US International Robbie Rogers made his debut with the squad, only to be stretchered off 5 minutes later after a horrid collision with Tommy Spurr. Apparently, Rogers suffered a concussion, but Leeds has not issued an official statement. Here’s hoping both Robbie and Tommy Spurr are all right!

Serie A

Inter Milan got a little wake up call this week as they were hammered by a struggling Bologna. Inter went down 3-0, a hard loss after winning 8 consecutive games in the league.

Some of the big news out of Italy however this week seems to be centered around penalties. Juventus and Inter Milan are both issuing out negative remarks about refs decisions on penalty kicks this season. You just can’t make everyone happy, can you?

FA Cup

Chelsea 1 – Birmingham 1

Everton 2 – Blackpool 0

Millwall 0 – Bolton 2

Norwich 1 – Leicester 2

Sunderland 2 – Arsenal 0

Alex Morgan for SI's Swimsuit Issue.

Friday is everyone’s favorite day of the week, but today it’s an extra special day. I’m sure you’ve probably already seen it, but Alex Morgan revealed that she will be featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Aside from Morgan’s smokin’ hot body, there are a few other stories stirring up discussion in the soccer world today. The USWNT is making headlines, Harry Redknapp reacts to calls for him to fill the vacant seat for the England National Team, and much more! Here’s your Daily Kick Around.

US Women’s National Team

I don’t know about you, but I can’t keep my eyes off of that picture to the right. It’s not like it is news to us here at Aerys Soccer that Alex Morgan is a certified hottie, we fully admitted our crush on her a few weeks ago. But we’re glad to see one of our favorite USWNT stars getting some national exposure…and yes, we mean exposure in every sense of the word. Morgan stripped down to nothing but paint for SI’s Swimsuit Issue, and we can’t wait to see the rest of the pictures.

Morgan isn’t the only reason the USWNT has been making headlines in the past month. The team was just awarded January Team of the month, and Abby Wambach Player of the Month by the US Olympic Committee for their phenomenal performance in the Olympic Qualifying tournament in January. Congrats ladies!

The USWNT has added two more games to their busy schedule leading up to the Olympics this summer, as they will take on reigning World Cup Champion Japan and the always difficult Brazil in early April. These will be two great matches that you won’t want to miss!

Continuing on the trend of women’s soccer, now that the WPS has officially been suspended for the 2012 season, teams and players are scrambling to find a way to play at a high level this year. The Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) announced yesterday that they would be adding an Elite Division for 2012, and three ex-WPS squads have already jumped on board. Equalizer Soccer’s Jeff Kassouf has all the details of this newly launched division.

US Men’s National Team

Even though Morgan and the rest of the USWNT ladies are the center of attention today, we can’t forget about the stars of the USMNT. Clint Dempsey, who has been on fire lately for Fulham, has been sharing his life and soccer experiences on Goal.com in the form of a soccer “diary.” It’s a fun concept that gives us the chance to learn a little bit more about the man dubbed “Deuce.” This week’s entry is all about the road to his first World Cup, in 2006.

English Premier League

Will Ryan Giggs ever retire? The Manchester United legend, who has been playing for the Red Devils since 1991, signed a one year extension today. It will be the 38-year-old’s 22nd year with United, an unbelievable feat to say the least. The man is a machine, it seems the only way he’ll quit playing is when his legs fall off!

Thierry Henry, another footballer of legendary status, will be coming back to his MLS squad on time, despite rumors that he would be extending his loan with Arsenal. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger had considered trying to extend Henry’s loan another two weeks, but said it wouldn’t be fair to the New York Red Bulls to do so. I’m sure NYRB fans will be happy to hear this news!

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been dominating the headlines the last two days, but not for anything to do with the Spurs. Now that Fabio Capello has resigned from England’s National Team, there is a vacant seat screaming Redknapp’s name. English footballers, members of the media and fans are all calling for Redknapp to take over the position. The question is, does Harry even want it? He answers that here.

Finally, saving the best for last, I give you the only soccer story you should read today. Luke Lohr of The MLS Reserves brings us the tale of Evan Mundine, a young kid with a massive heart and a passion for soccer fighting against multiple injuries and road bumps in his recovery.  Do yourself a favor and read it.

It’s Hump Day again and Aerys Soccer DKA has the spicy soccer news you get you over the hump and on your way!  Big news about Harry Redknapp’s trial plus plenty more stories involving the usual football drama queens like John Terry, Diego Maradona, Luis Suarez and FIFA.  Last but not least, David Beckham comments about how he reveals all — ok well not all, but it’s pretty close! Read on for all this and more in Wednesday’s Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

It was announced today that Harry Redknapp and his co-defendent have been cleared of all tax evasion charges.  UK authorities have spent £8 million to try and convict the Tottenham manager without gaining a single conviction. Ouch….

Sorely missed Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has returned after an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra.  This weekend, the Uruguayan will face Manchester United and claims the jeers expected from the United fans will only fuel his motivation.

La Liga

Athletic Bilbao will advance to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after an emphatic 6-2 rout against Mirandes. They will face the winner between Valencia and Barcelona in the final.

USMNT

Harry Keough, the former U.S. National Team captain, NCAA college coach and National Soccer Hall of Famer, died this week at the age of 84.  The defender participated on the U.S. team that shocked the world by beating England in the 1950 World Cup. Thank you for you contributions to the beautiful game Mr. Keough.

International

Fabio Capello, who has openly criticized the FA for stripping John Terry of his England captaincy for the Euro 2012, will meet with the governing body today. I’m all for justice, but to assume Terry is innocent until proven guilty is a bitter pill to swallow.

FIFA have pledged to contribute $250,000 to aid the families of victims hurt or killed during the violence that erupted this past weekend at an Egyptian soccer stadium. I am cynical about any news concerning FIFA, so I will just leave it at that.

Diego Maradona is grumbling once again, but his complaints might be covering up for the poor performance of his newest club.  Maradona is managing Al Wasl, supposedly one of the top teams in Dubai, yet they sit in 5th place.  I can just hear the ’Poor Diego’ cries from sympathizers around the world.

David Beckham claims he was embarrassed to watch his tv ad for H&M during the Super Bowl while in a room full of strangers.  The chiseled L.A. Galaxy star wore only his skivvies in a very, uh, shall we say, jaw-dropping and pulse-raising commercial.  In an interview about it, Becks admitted it was easier to shoot the commercial than watch it in public.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.